4-Year-Old Autistic Black Girl Left on School Bus For 7 Hours in Extreme Heat

Nationwide — An African American family from Dallas, Texas is demanding answers after their 4-year-old daughter, Araiya Pruitt, who has autism and is nonverbal, was left alone on her school bus for nearly seven hours. Her parents, Robert and Keturah, are deeply concerned about the failure of the Dallas Independent School District to protect their child. They entrusted the school system with their daughter’s safety, but on that fateful Tuesday, the system failed them in a way that could have had tragic consequences.

According to Araiya’s parents, they put their daughter on the bus in the morning, expecting her to arrive safely at school. However, they later learned that she never made it to her classroom. The bus driver, after dropping off the other students, assumed the bus was empty and returned it to the bus barn, unaware that Araiya was still inside. This oversight left Araiya alone on the bus, in what her father described as a shocking form of neglect.

According to WLTB, the situation was made even worse by the fact that the bus was parked on a day when temperatures soared to nearly 100 degrees. Araiya, who cannot unbuckle her seatbelt without assistance, was likely strapped in her seat the entire time. Her parents are horrified by the thought of their daughter suffering for hours in the intense heat without supervision, air conditioning, or access to food and water. They believe their daughter could have died that day due to the extreme conditions.

The distressing discovery was made later in the day when another driver went to retrieve the bus for the afternoon route and found Araiya inside. She had soiled herself and was immediately taken to the hospital for evaluation. Keturah Crockett, Araiya’s mother, is haunted by thoughts of what her daughter must have endured during those long hours, wondering if Araiya cried out for her or cried herself to sleep.

Pruitt and Crockett are not only seeking answers but also accountability from the Dallas Independent School District. They want to ensure that their daughter’s story is heard and that such a grievous error never happens again. The trauma of the incident has also led them to decide that Araiya will no longer ride the school bus, as they can no longer trust the system that failed their daughter so profoundly.

In response to the incident, the Dallas Independent School District issued a statement on Wednesday, expressing their outrage over what happened. They emphasized that student safety is their highest priority and assured the public that a thorough investigation is underway. While they are grateful that Araiya is safe, her parents are left grappling with the emotional aftermath and the reality that their daughter’s life was put at risk due to what they consider a preventable mistake.